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Myanmar military airstrikes hit a hospital in a city controlled by an ethnic armed group near the Chinese border, killing 10 people, local media reported Friday.
A resident who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity for security reasons said military aircraft carried out at least two airstrikes late Thursday night on the Lao Cai market, which is normally home to around 25,000 people.
Local media quoted a resident as saying that the attack killed 10 civilians.
Myanmar’s northern Shan state has been roiled by fighting since late June, when an alliance of ethnic armed groups renewed their offensive against the Myanmar military along a key trade road to China.
The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) has occupied Laogai since January after more than 2,000 junta soldiers surrendered there in one of the military’s biggest defeats in decades.
Indian National Democratic Alliance Army spokesman Lee Jiawen told AFP that a military airstrike hit a hospital in the city of Lao Cai, but the number of casualties was not yet clear.
The military government has been contacted for comment.
Myanmar’s military junta has carried out several bombings in Laogai in recent weeks after the National Democratic Alliance Army launched a renewed offensive in northern Shan state, tearing up a ceasefire agreement brokered by Beijing.
Photos taken by residents of the old street and shared with AFP on Thursday showed the streets were empty.
In recent days, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army fighters have entered the town of Lashio in northern Shan State, home to the Myanmar military’s Northeastern Command.
Fighting continued in Lashio on Friday, a military source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Local media reported, citing a local resident, that militants from the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army broke into a military hospital in Lashio and killed an unknown number of patients and medical staff.
AFP was unable to reach local residents in Lashio or confirm the report.
Recent fighting in Shan state has left dozens of civilians dead or injured, according to Myanmar’s military junta and local aid groups.
Neither the military junta nor the National Alliance has released their respective casualty figures.
Myanmar’s border regions are home to numerous ethnic armed groups, who have been battling the Myanmar military for autonomy and control of its rich resources since independence from Britain in 1948.
Some provided shelter and training to the newer “People’s Defense Forces” (PDF) formed after the 2021 coup to fight the military.
China is a major ally and arms supplier to Myanmar’s military junta, but analysts say it also maintains ties with Myanmar’s ethnic armed groups that control territory in border areas.
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